German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck rejected European calls that he should spend more on battling the economic crisis, arguing that “just because all the lemmings have chosen the same path,” that did not make it right. In an interview with weekly magazine Der Spiegel, published on Saturday, Steinbrueck rejected suggestions he was stubborn and that the government's resistance to a bigger stimulus package had rendered it the “laughing stock of Europe.” “Nonsense,” Steinbrueck said. “But that doesn't mean the Germans have to buy into every European suggestion if they can't see what it will do for the economy. Especially as Germany always ends up having to pay the most.” Chancellor Angela Merkel backed Steinbrueck's position in a separate interview published at the weekend. Der Spiegel said many economists believed Germany had so far not committed enough resources to countering the downturn, including the government's own panel of economic advisers. Steinbrueck, a member of the centre-left Social Democrats, said many experts had changed their position during the crisis, and that it was important for the government to be consistent. “Just because all the lemmings have chosen the same path, it doesn't automatically make that path the right one,” he said. The small Arctic rodents are famous for the myth that they commit mass suicide. Merkel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung paper Germany did not want to free up more cash for an EU plan. “Germany is making its contribution to the European stimulus package, and we're doing more and acting faster than many others in Europe. We're still making our 20 percent contribution to the EU budget. We don't want to raise this contribution. “But there is the option of reallocating money and bringing forward measures,” she said. “This is often more effective than just always calling for more money.” By changing competition rules or making more flexible use of structural funds, more resources could be freed up, she said.
